AN inquest was brought to a halt after a father demanded a GP give evidence about the death of his baby daughter hours after she was examined.

Nimra Anwar, of Inkerman Street, Blackburn, died 14 hours after her concerned parents took her to a medical centre when she started vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea.

After seeing a doctor, Mohammed and Munaza Anwar took Nimra home and put her to bed. At 1am when Munaza checked on her she found her 14-month-old baby was dead.

The Blackburn inquest was told that a post mortem examination could not establish a cause of death. After hearing the pathologist's evidence, Mr Anwar asked coroner Michael Singleton to adjourn the hearing so the examining GP, a Dr Sharma, could give his version of events.

Dr Melanie Newbold, a pathologist at the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital, said that after carrying out tests on Nimra's body she could not find anything that would point to a cause of death.

She said: "Nimra was fairly small for her age but she appeared to be normal. The only thing I noticed was her eyes appeared to be sunken, which suggests she was dehydrated." She said there was no evidence that Nimra had meningitis, pneumonia or any other virus that may have killed her, adding that the only abnormality was that her sodium levels were high, adding weight to the dehydration theory. She said a recent mild illness had possibly been a viral infection.

She concluded: "A cause of death was unascertained but on the balance of probabilities I would say she she became dehydrated as a result of a recent illness." Mr Singleton said medical notes provided by Dr Sharma showed that Nimra was diagnosed with flu-like symptons and a respiratory infection when her parents brought her in. He prescribed penicillin and paracetemol.

He said: "But Mr Anwar had grave concerns that his daughter saw the doctor and 14 hours later she had died."

He asked Dr Newbold whether Nimra's chance of survival would have been greater had she been admitted to hospital. Dr Newbold replied: "That is a difficult question to answer as I have not identified a significant infection like meningitis or pneumonia.

"I just identified a raised sodium level in her eyes, which suggested she was dehydrated. Everything I have found would be in keeping with the doctor's diagnosis as I haven't been able to find anything more certain than that."

Addressing Mr Anwar, Mr Singleton said: "You are greatly concerned that your daughter was seen by the doctor on March 28 and, not withstanding that, died 14 hours later.

"What the pathologist is telling me is she has been unable to identify a cause of death, although she believes it is possible that your daughter suffered from dehydration.

"If Dr Sharma is to be criticised we should allow him to attend."

The inquest was adjourned until June 6.